Deities
A list of Gods that remain as the subject of worship by the people of today. History Origins While almost all records of the Gods' Era have been lost to time, the world came into being following the departure of a number of powerful spirits from the Beyond, drifting among the stars until they found a primitive planet they named Ranos. Why they chose this name or its significance is still unknown, but these spirits would eventually breathe life into their new home, expending a great deal of energy in doing so. It was after this that some took physical forms of immense power and began their own age on Ranos. While eight rose to prominence, hundreds more gave their energy entirely to the planet as it was terraformed to suit the 'God's' creations. Rise and Fall For many years these new deities ruled their kingdom, having taken on names, features and personalities as lesser beings and their creations began to spread and populate the planet. While this was considered their Golden Age, tensions rose as the Greater Gods began to impose rules and restrictions on their people, leading to a power struggle that turned into a war of immense proportions. Parts of their world burned to ash while other places were remade; each God fought for his or her own rulership of Ranos. By the end, they had all wasted and expended their power and either perished, disappeared or changed themselves, giving this world to the fledgeling powers of Man, Elves, Sorcerers and Dragons. Later Worship Though they had destroyed each other in their great war, the Gods' power and memories were not to be forgotten. Many of them had visited their creations and left a lasting impression. Some memorised and handed down stories of these great beings to their descendants, while others created temples out of hubris as their war intensified. As such, they are now worshipped in many different forms by cultures around the world over eight thousand years after their fall from grace. The Eight The original Pantheon, known for building the White City in an ancient era before bringing about their own downfall. Many modern-day religions are descended from worship of these figures in various different forms. Ira Ira, also known as Mother Sun, Ishala and Ir the Vengeful, is the Goddess of Life and Sunlight. When the Eight came to power in Ranos, it was she who formed first and took command, instructing and teaching her comrades as they built the White city in the far north. While she was known for her wisdom and benevolence to her subjects among their growing empire, Ira's nature became more controlling as she instated strict laws for her people and began to see herself as the sole ruler of Ranos. After war broke out between her and the other deities, Ira remained in the White City even as it crumbled, killing Iposh and displaying the corpses of Wuun and Cernos after their deaths as a warning. As her sanity crumbled, Ira's followers would desert her, leaving the powerful Godess alone in her city until she was visited by Jaka in an attempt to make peace. Towards the end of the First War, Ira fought with Vasha and the two mighty deities expended all of their power, eventually ascending back into spirit form to join the Sun and Moon respectively. Thousands of years later, Ira remains as one of the most worshipped deities alongside Vasha. The Maldorian Empire in particular promotes worship of her as the Sun Godess as part of their state religion. While great temples and statues are erected in Ira's name across the world, she no longer possesses any way of contacting her followers across Ranos. Whether or not she is truly sorry for her deeds in the First War or stands by the harsh decisions that led to the conflict is entirely unknown. Ira is often depicted as a tall woman with golden hair and crimson eyes, clad in either white robes or the shining silver armour she donned during the First War. She is often shown clutching a burning spear in one hand and a scroll in the other. Vasha Vasha, also known as The Midnight Lady and Mother of Sorceries, is the Goddess of Sorcery and Moonlight. Known for her wisdom and intellect, she had an insatiable curiosity and a lust for knowledge. The brother of Jaka, it was she who first went against Ira's decree of non-interference and gifted Elvenkind with the ability to produce magic, bringing about the first Golden Age for their kind. Her constant meddling in the affairs of lesser species put her at odds with Ira on many occasions, and it was her outright rebellion that first sparked the First War in 8000.DE. As her fellow deities battled across the northern continent, she dedicated her time to researching ways to defeat her rivals and created vast laboratories under the mountains south of the White City. After conserving her strength and leaving her followers under Jaka's command for almost a thousand years, Vasha channelled a great deal of her magic into a new Human-like species that soon became known as the Sorcerers. With the other Gods focused on fighting each other, Vasha convertly transported them to a floating island atop the clouds, granting them their own kingdom away from the troubles of the world. Her unsuccessful experiments had resulted in hundreds of similar creatures, but with a complete immunity to not only magecraft, but her own destructive powers. While they would have made a fearsome army against the other Gods, Vasha knew that their mere existence would be enough to turn most of the others against her instantly and instead gave them a new home on a far-off island, allowing them to be left alone during the First War. Eventually Vasha would engage Ira in battle personally and after a furious battle ascended to be come one with the Moon, vanishing from Ranos forever. Much like Ira, Vasha is still worshipped in different forms across Ranos thousands of years after her ascension. Often seen as an opposite to her old foe, some cultures even portray them as sisters, with Vasha representing the Moon and being the target of worship by magic-users worldwide. Due to her association with the night, she has been viewed as an evil deity in some time periods and a benevolent Godess in others. Vasha is generally portrayed as a slender, black-haired woman with dark purple eyes and black robes pattered with stars. She is generally shown clutching a magical staff and a spellbook due to her association with magecraft. Georim Georim, known as the Dragonfather and later as Georim the Builder, is the God of Sky and Dragons. Of the ancient deities, Georim was known for his blunt, direct nature. A great lover of the open skies, he was rarely involved in the political matters of the White City, and created both the Dragons and Drakin as creatures to rule over his then-empty domain. Much like their master, the Dragons were proud, fierce creatures who respected strength above all else, though their pride bordered on arrogance and many of the beasts were simply content to live atop their mountains away from the other fledgeling races. The Drakin were Georim's second creation, and were responsible for carving out mighty structures of rock and granite during the Gods' Era. When the First War broke out, Georim chose not to side with Ira or any others, and instead sallied forth from the mountains with an army of dragons, intent on burning the entire world; wiping the slate clean so that he and his fellows could begin again. This led him into direct conflict with Ira herself, forcing the Dragons and Sun Warriors into a war that lasted nearly six hundred years as they ravaged the northern continent. In 7436.DE, his armies were finally broken as Ira shattered entire mountain ranges and threatened to wipe out all of his creations if he did not surrender. It was here that Georim realised the error of his genocidal campaign, and while the Great Dragons either gave up or fled, he travelled south with his closest followers, killing a number of zealous Sun Warriors who pursued him. Having abandoned the First War, Georim's followers travelled across the sea to a large island in the south-east, naming it 'Jamos'. Here, they created a settlement and began anew. Mentally broken after the horrors inflicted on Ranos, Georim led the rebuilding efforts and had a large dwelling constructed for himself within a mountain before sealing himself inside. Many thousands of years passed and as the other Gods perished or departed the world he soon realised that he was the only one left whole in Ranos. Rather than leading his forces to conquer the mainland, Georim began relaying messages to the Drakin civilisation through his chosen speakers, and used a great deal of his energy to create the 'Blue Abyss' - an impassable stretch of ocean over an infathomably deep trench, designed to keep away Human and Elven sailors as well as ensuring that the Drakin remain isolated. In his millennia of exile, Georim's mind has been kept busy working on various plans for machinery and devices that would assist the outside world, as well as contingencies for possible future wars on Ranos. To the outside world, however, Georim's name has been all but forgotten, save for a few obscure references from ancient Dragon-worshipping cults that existed many thousands of years ago. Georim appears as a tall, muscular figure, with a bald head, blue eyes and strong masculine features.. He is often depicted as being clad in thick armour, with a large warhammer as his weapon. Wuun Wuun, Jaka Jaka, who later became known as J'Kartor and The Dark One, is the God of Thought and Freedom. Cernos Iposh Tross